Abstract
This paper describes a program that was established by Florida Medicaid to improve the quality of prescribing of psychotherapeutic medications. It relates the process used for defining quality medication treatment including the definitions of unusual psychotherapeutic medication indicators (UPMI). It details the results of analysis of FY 2007–2008 pharmacy claims data using these indicators that enabled the Program to identify practices and prescribers that required targeted interventions. The most frequently triggered UPMI for adults involved the use of 2 or more antipsychotics for greater than 60 days; high doses of psychotherapeutic medications was the indicator most frequently triggered for children closely followed by the use of 2 or more antipsychotics for more than 45 days. Prescriptions that triggered UPMI were concentrated in a small number of prescribers. These results led to the Program focusing on these high frequency practices and on the prescribers most associated with them. They also led to the implementation of new quality improvement initiatives like the implementation of a psychiatric telephone consultation line for pediatricians who are treating children with serious emotional disturbances who do not have access to child psychiatrists.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Medical Association. (2009). Physician characteristics and distribution in the U.S., 2010. Chicago, IL: American Medical Association.
Banthin, J. S., & Miller, G. E. (2006). Trends in prescription drug expenditures by medicaid enrollees. Medical Care Trends in Medical Care Costs, Coverage, Use, and Access: Research Findings from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 44(5) suppl:I-27–I-35.
Bero, L., & Rennie, D. (1995). The Cochrane collaboration: Preparing, maintaining, and disseminating systematic reviews of the effects of health care. Journal of the American Medical Association, 274, 1935–1938.
Chiles, J. A., Miller, A. L., Crismon, M. L., Rush, A. J., Krasnoff, A. S., & Shon, S. S. (1999). The Texas medication algorithm project: Development and implementation of the schizophrenia algorithm. Psychiatric Services, 50(1), 69–74.
Clark, N. M., Gong, M., Schork, M. A., Evans, D., Roloff, D., Hurwitz, M., et al. (1998). Impact of education for physicians on patient outcomes. Pediatrics, 101(5), 831–836.
Club, A. (1996). Systematic practice-based interventions are better than conferences for improving professional practice. ACP Journal Club, 124, 22.
Cohen, S. J. (1994). Changing physician behavior to improve disease prevention. Preventive Medicine, 23, 284–291.
Conrad, P. (2004). Prescribing more psychotropic medications for children: What does the increase mean? Archives of Perdiatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 158, 829–830.
Constantine, R. J., Richard, S., Surles, R., Medvedeff, D., Dewan, N. A., Mann, L., et al. (2006). Optimizing pharmacotherapy of schizophrenia: Tools for the psychiatrist. Current Psychosis and Therapeutics Reports, 4(1), 5–11.
Cunningham, P. (2005). Medicaid cost containment and access to prescription drugs. Health Affairs, 24, 780–789.
Dewan, N. A., Conley, D., Svendsen, D., Shon, S. P., Staup, J. R., Miller, A. L., et al. (2003). A quality improvement process for implementing the Texas algorithm for schizophrenia in Ohio. Psychiatric Services, 54(12), 1646–1649.
Elson, R. B., & Connelly, D. P. (1995). Computerized patient records in primary care: Their role in mediating guideline-driven physician behavior. Archives of Family Medicine, 4(8), 698–705.
Essock, S. M., Covell, N. H., Leckmam-Westin, E., Lieberman, J. A., Sederer, L., Kealey, E., et al. (2009). Identifying clinically questionable psychotropic prescribing practices for Medicaid participants in New York state. Psychiatric Services, 60(12), 1595–1602.
Farmer, A. P., Legare, F., Turcot, L., Grimshaw, J., Harvey, E., McGowan, J. L. et al. (2009). Printed educational materials: Effects on professional practice and health care outcomes. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008(3).
Finkelstein, J. A., Huang, S. S., Kleinman, K., Rifas-Shiman, S. L., Stille, C. J., Daniel, J., et al. (2008). Impact of a 16-community trial to promote judicious antibiotic use in Massachusetts. Pediatrics, 121(1), 15–23.
Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. (2010). Florida Medicaid summary of services, fiscal year 2009/2010. Tallahassee, FL: Florida Agency for Health Care Administration.
Fraser, G. L., Wennberg, D. E., Dickens, J. D. J., & Lambrew, C. T. (1996). Changing physician behavior in ordering digoxin assays. Annals of Pharmacotherapy, 30(5), 449–454.
Freemantle, N., Harvey, E., Wolf, F., Grimshaw, J., Grilli, R., & Bero, L. (1997). Printed educational materials: Effects on professional practice and health care outcomes. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 1997(2).
Ganguly, R., Kotzan, J. A., Miller, L. S., Kennedy, K., & Martin, B. C. (2004). Prevalence, trends, and factors associated with antipsychotic polypharmacy among Medicaid-eligible schizophrenia patients, 1998–2000. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 65(10), 1377–1388.
Gibson, P. J., Damler, R., Jackson, E. A., Wilder, T., & Ramsey, J. L. (2004). The impact of olanzapine, risperidone, or haloperidol on the cost of schizophrenia care in a medicaid population. Value in health: The Journal of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, 7(1), 22–35.
Gilmer, T. P., Dolder, C. R., Folsom, D. P., Mastin, W., & Jeste, D. V. (2007). Antipsychotic polypharmacy trends among Medicaid beneficiaries with schizophrenia in San Diego County, 1999–2004. Psychiatric Services, 58(7), 1007–1010.
Hermann, R. C., Yang, D., Ettner, S. L., Marcus, S. C., Yoon, C., & Abraham, M. (2002). Prescription of antipsychotic drugs by office-based physicians in the United States, 1989–1997. Psychiatric Services, 53(4), 425–430.
Holahan, J., & Yemane, A. (2009). Enrollment is driving Medicaid costs: But two targets can yield savings. Health Affairs, 28, 1453–1465.
Jamtvedt, G., Young, J. M., Kristofferson, D. T., O’Brien, M. A., & Oxman, A. (2006). Audit and feedback: Effects on professional practice and health care outcomes. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2006(2).
Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. (2010). Medicaid enrollment: June 2009 data snapshot. Washington, DC: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. (2003). States respond to fiscal pressure: State Medicaid spending growth and cost containment in fiscal year 2003 and 2004. Washington, DC: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
Kitson, A., Harvey, G., & McCormack, B. (1998). Enabling the implementation of evidence based practice: A conceptual framework. Quality in Health care, 7(3), 149–158.
Kleijnen, J., & Chalmers, I. (1997). How to practice and teach evidence based medicine: Role of the Cochrane Collaboration. Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Supplementum, 41 (Suppl 111)(1), 231–233.
Koyanagi, C., Forquer, S., & Alfano, E. (2005). Medicaid policies to contain psychiatric drug costs. Health Affairs, 24(2), 536–544.
Ladenheim, K., Farmer, C., Folkemer, D., Fox-Grage, W., Horahan, K., Scanlon, A. et al. (2002). Medicaid cost containment: A legislator’s tool kit retrieved 05 July 2010 http://www.ncsl.org/IssuesResearch/Health/ManagingMedicaidCostsALegislatorsToolKit/tabid/14466/Default.aspx.
Lundberg, G. D. (1998). Changing physician behavior in ordering diagnostic tests. Journal of the American Medical Association, 280, 2036–2037.
Macfarlane, J., Holmes, W., Gard, P., Thornhill, D., Macfarlane, R., & Hubbard, R. (2002). Reducing antibiotic use for acute bronchitis in primary care: Blind, randomised controlled trial of patient information leaflet. British Medical Journal, 324, 1–6.
Miller, A. L., Chiles, J. A., Chiles, J. K., Crimson, M. L., Rush, J., & Shon, S. (1999). The Texas medication algorithm project (TMAP) schizophrenia algorithms. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 60(10), 649–657.
Miller, A. L., Crismon, M. L., Rush, A. J., Chiles, J., Kashner, T. M., Toprac, M., et al. (2004). The Texas medication algorithm project: Clinical results for schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 30(3), 627–647.
Morrato, E. H., Dodd, S., Oderda, G., Haxby, D. G., Allen, R., & Valuck, R. J. (2007). Prevalence, utilization patterns, and predictors of antipsychotic polypharmacy: Experience in a multistate Medicaid population, 1998–2003. Clinical Therapeutics: The International Peer-Reviewed Journal of Drug Therapy, 29(1), 183–195.
Ning, A., Dubin, W. R., & Parks, J. J. (2005). Pharmacy costs: Finding a role for quality. Psychiatric Services, 56(8), 909–911.
O’Brien, M. A., Freemantle, N., Oxman, A., Wolf, F., Davis, D., & Herrin, J. (2001). Continuing education meetings and workshops: Effects on professional practice and health care Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (1).
O’Brien, M. A., Rogers, S., Jamtvedt, G., Oxman, A., Odgaard-Jensen, J., Kristofferson, D. T. et al. (2007). Educational outreach visits: Effects on professional practice and health care outcomes. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (4).
Oxman, A. D., Thomson, M. A., Davis, D. A., & Haynes, R. B. (1995). No magic bullets: A systematic review of 102 trials of interventions to improve professional practice. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 153(10), 1423–1431.
Parks, J., & Surles, R. (2004). Best practices: Using best practices to manage psychiatric medications under Medicaid. Psychiatric Services, 55(11), 1227–1229.
Pazirandeh, M. (2002). Does patient partnership in continuing medical education (CME) improve the outcome in osteoporosis management? Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 22, 142–151.
Perkins, M. B., Jensen, P. S., Jaccard, J., Gollwitzer, P., Oettingen, G., Pappadopulos, E., et al. (2007). Applying theory-driven approaches to understanding and modifying clinicians’ behavior: What do we know? Psychiatric Services, 58, 342–348.
Solomon, D. H., Hashimoto, H., Daltroy, L., & Liang, M. H. (1998). Techniques to improve physicians’ use of diagnostic tests: A new conceptual framework. Journal of the American Medical Association, 280(23), 2020–2027.
Sommers, L. S., Sholtz, R., Sheperd, R. M., & Starkweather, D. B. (1984). Physician involvement in quality assurance. Medical Care, 22(12), 1115–1138.
Soumerai, S. B., McLaughlin, T. J., & Avron, J. (1989). Improving drug prescribing in primary care: A critical analysis of the experimental literature. The Milbank Quarterly, 67(2), 268–317.
Soumerai, S. B., McLaughlin, T. J., Ross-Degnan, D., Casteris, C. S., & Bollini, P. (1994). Effects of limiting Medicaid drug-reimbursement benefits on the use of psychotropic agents and acute mental health services by patients with schizophrenia. New England Journal of Medicine, 331, 650–655.
Stagnitti, M. N. (2007). Trends in the use and expenditures for the therapeutic class prescribed psychotherapeutica agents and all subclasses, 1997 and 2004, statistical brief #163. Rockville, MC: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Stahl, S. M., & Grady, M. M. (2006). High-cost use of second-generation antipsychotics under California’s medicaid program. Psychiatric Services, 57(1), 127–129.
Steiner, J. F. (2005). A series of evidence-based drug therapy letters improved prescribing behaviour. Evidence Based Medicine, 10, 91–97.
Sullivan, S. D., Lee, T. A., Blough, D. K., Finkelstein, J. A., Lozano, P., Inui, T. S., et al. (2005). A multisite randomized trial of the effects of physician education and organizational change in chronic asthma care: Cost-effectiveness analysis of the pediatric asthma care patient outcomes research team II (PAC-PORT II). Archives of Perdiatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 159, 428–434.
Tandon, R., Dewan, N. A., Constantine, R., & Wells, J. (2005). Best practice pharmacologic treatment of schizophrenia: Applying principles of evidence-based medicine. Current Psychosis and Therapeutics Reports, 30(3), 53–60.
Tu, K., & Davis, D. (2002). Can we alter physician behavior by educational methods? Lessons learned from studies of the management and follow-up of hypertension. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 22, 11.
Weiss, K. B., Lozano, P., Finkelstein, J. A., Carey, V. J., Sullivan, S. D., Fuhlbrigge, A. L., et al. (2003). A randomized controlled clinical trial to improve asthma care for children through provider education and health systems change: A description of the pediatric asthma care patient outcome research team (PAC-PORT II) study design. Health Services and Outcomes Research Methodology, 4(4), 265–282.
Zhu, B., Ascher-Svanum, H., Faries, D. E., Correll, C. U., & Kane, J. M. (2008). Cost of antipsychotic polypharmacy in the treatment of schizophrenia. BMC Psychiatry, 8, 19.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by Contract No. MED112 from the State of Florida Agency for Health Care Administration.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Constantine, R.J., McPherson, M.A., Jones, M.E. et al. Improving Psychotherapeutic Medication Prescribing in Florida: Implementation of the Florida Medicaid Drug Therapy Management Program (MDTMP). Community Ment Health J 49, 33–44 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-012-9497-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-012-9497-y